O'Keefe, Dennis

Dennis O'Keefe was born March 29, 1908 in the small town of Fort Madison in Iowa , in a family of Irish pop artists performing in the United States. As a small child, O'Keefe began playing on stage in the comedy room of his parents ^[3] .

At the age of 16, he began writing film scripts for the comedy short films Our Gang . For some time, O'Keefe went to college, continuing to work on the stage, and in the early 1930s went to the cinema ^[3] .

In the early 1930s, under the name Bad Flanagan, he began acting in episodic roles ^[3] , playing in 20-30 films a year, as a rule, without mentioning in the credits. In particular, he appeared in films such as the drama Divorce Certificate (1932) with John Barrymore and Catherine Hepburn in her first leading role, proto-noir " I am a Runaway Convict " (1932) with Paul Mooney and the melodrama " Imitation of life ”(1934) with Claudette Colbert ^[4] and such early noirs as“ The Scarface ”(1932) and“ Rage ”(1936) ^[5] .

In 1937, he played a small but vivid role in the romantic comedy Saratoga (1937). The film star Clark Gable drew attention to O'Keefe, recommending the management of the Metro-Goldwin-Mayer studio to try the young actor in more significant roles, as a result, the studio signed a contract with him in 1937 ^[3] .

After many episodic roles throughout the 1930s, Bad Flanagan finally changed his name to Dennis O'Keefe, turning into a courageous second-tier star ^[2] . The first film, where O'Keefe played a major role, was the western "The Scoundrel of Brimstone " (1938) ^[3] . This was followed by the romantic comedy “ Hold this Kiss ” (1938), the comedy “ Rest from Love ” (1938), the melodrama “The Chaser ” (1938), the crime action about auto racing “ Burn Them, O'Connor ” (1939) and the romantic comedy “ Resurrect my love ” (1940).

In 1940, after the expiration of the contract with MGM, O'Keefe became an independent artist. He attracted attention by playing a supporting role in the detective fantasy comedy “ Topper Returns ” (1941) with the participation of Roland Young and Joan Blondell , after which he played the main roles in the crime comedy “ Mr. District Attorney ” (1941), the comedy “ Weekend on three ”(1941), the crime comedy“ Jimmy Valentine Scandals ”(1942), the musical comedies“ Hello, Diddle, Diddle ”(1943) and“ Beloved with Tahiti ”(1943).

Among the most notable works of O'Keeffe during this period is the main role of a small impresario catching a serial killer in the psychological horror thriller of producer Val Lewton 's Leopard Man (1943). He also played the memorable role of a wounded sailor in the biographical drama " The Story of Dr. Wassel " (1944) with Gary Cooper in the title role, which tells about the adventures of an American naval doctor in the Dutch East Indies during World War II . In the same period, O'Keefe played a significant supporting role in the comedy “ Intrigues Susan ” (1945) with Joan Fontaine and George Brent in the lead roles, as well as in the musical comedy “ Doll ” (1945).

In the mid-1940s, O'Keefe began actively collaborating with freelance producer Edward Small , with whom he made some of his best films ^[6] . Initially, O'Keefe starred in Small's comedies, such as Upstairs in Mabel’s Room (1944), Millions of Brewster (1945), and Get Gertie’s Suspenders (1945). In Millions of Brewster, a fun story about how a young soldier returning from war must spend a million dollars in two months to receive the multimillion-dollar legacy of his dead uncle, O'Keefe, according to film critic Lawrence Rowe, played one of his best roles ^{[ 7]} .

After numerous comedies and light action movies, over time, O'Keefe began to specialize in playing tough guys ^[3] . Producer Edward Small invited O'Keefe to star in three consecutive film noir films - Treasury Agents (1947), Dirty Deal (1948) and Walk the Curve Mile (1948) ^[6] . The film noir directed by Anthony Mann “ Treasury Agents ” (1947) demonstrated the innovative semi-documentary style and excellent camera work of John Alton , showing in detail the technical aspects of the work of public services to expose financial crimes. O'Keefe played the main role of the State Treasury agent O'Brien, who, acting undercover, reveals a network of counterfeiters . As Andrew Spicer points out, “O'Brien’s behavior was so unpleasantly accurate that it seems he can easily be swapped with gangsters that he is trying to expose. However, at the same time, O'Keefe perfectly conveyed the pain of his character caused by the death of his partner during the execution of the assignment ” ^[8] . The second joint film by Small, Mann, Olton and O'Keefe - “The Dirty Deal ” (1948) - became one of the classic films of the noir genre. In this picture, O'Keefe played the role of a criminal who escaped from prison, who is going to knock out the share owed to him from his accomplices, and in addition must make a choice between two women - an old girlfriend in love with him ( Claire Trevor ) and a young attractive lawyer ( Marsha Hunt ) which he abducts, and then falls in love with her ^[9] . As Spicer notes, in this picture O'Keefe created the image of “a rude and harsh, but deep down decent man who is able to control the love of two women” ^[8] . According to Hogan, “in the films“ Treasury Agents “and“ Crude Deal “O'Keefe showed not only his abilities, but also a sharp, exciting game, making a significant contribution to making both of these films a classic” ^[2] . The third joint Noir of Small and O'Keefe “ Going Criminal ” (1948) was a spy thriller, where O'Keefe played an FBI agent who disclosed a leak of classified information from a nuclear laboratory in California ^[10] .

However, as Spicer observes, these roles did not make him a star, and O'Keefe “spent the rest of his career playing in category B films, ” such as Undercover (1949), where he was not only the lead role of an insurance investigator, but also a co-author of the script ^[8] . O'Keefe also starred in such good-quality noir films as The Disgraced Woman (1947) with Hedy Lamarr and The Abandoned (1949). The best among his noirs of this period was Woman on the Run (1950) with Anne Sheridan , where the actor created the image of an attractive and persistent journalist who turned out to be a murderer. As Hogan notes, “O'Keefe was very skinny, which contrasted well with his wide, light smile, so the viewer never knew exactly what he was thinking. Together with the cool little thing Anne Sheridan, he made a great couple in this film ” ^[2] .

In the early 1950s, O'Keefe continued to act in films. In particular, together with John Payne and Ronda Fleming, he played in the Western Eagle and Hawk (1950), with Lisabeth Scott and Jane Greer in the social melodrama Her Company (1951), with Glenn Ford and Anne Baxter in the biopic about the famous golfer “ Following the Sun ” (1951). He also played in the musical “ All Mine is Yours ” (1952) and the comedy “ Lady Wants a Mink ” (1953), along with Ruth Hassi and Yves Arden .

In the mid-1950s, O'Keefe starred in four crime dramas - Fake (1953), Extortion in Las Vegas (1955), Inside Detroit (1955) and Chicago Syndicate (1955) , as well as in the Western " Dragon Wells Massacre " (1957). In "Chicago Syndicate" (1955), he again played an undercover agent, and in "Inside Detroit" (1956) he tried to avenge the murder of his brother, both paintings were made in the genre of revealing noir ^[8] .

In 1954, O'Keeffe directed as two directors, playing two major crime dramas in Europe: The Diamond (1954) in the UK and Angela (1954) ^[8] . In the 1960s, he starred in only two films ^[3] - the naval musical comedy “ All Up ” (1961) and the drama “ Naked Flame ” (1964) about the Dukhobor sect in northern Canada.

Since 1944, O'Keefe played on the radio, in particular, in the 1945 radio series “The Time of the Hollywood Detective,” he played the main role of the film director, who became a detective. In the 1950s, like other actors of his generation, O'Keefe worked a lot on television ^[2] . Starting in 1951, he played in more than three dozen episodes of various television series. In 1957-58, O'Keefe played in two episodes of the mystical-detective television series Suspicion (1957-1958), produced by Alfred Hitchcock . At the end of the decade, in his own short-lived television sitcom The Denis O'Keeffe Show (1959-1960, 32 episodes), O'Keefe played the role of a widower working as a reporter in Los Angeles ^{[3] [2]} .

During the heyday of his career in the 1940s and 1950s, O'Keefe, according to AllMovie , was “a slender, daring, charming, high and strong lead man” ^[3] . At the same time, as Hogan noted, O'Keefe never led the cast of "big" films, but for almost 30 years he was a reliable actor in thrillers, musicals, dramas and comedies of category B ^[2] . Spicer described O'Keefe as “a tall and well-built actor with a gruff, hoarse voice who played both action heroes and tough guys,” emphasizing that he played his best roles in two Noir films by Anthony Mann “Treasury Agents” (1948 ) and The Dirty Deal (1948) ^[8] .

O'Keefe was married twice: the first time - to actress Louise Stanley, and the second time - from 1940 to 1968 - to actress Steffi Dune. In his second marriage, his son James O'Keefe was born, who became a popular director and producer on television ^[11] .

Dennis O'Keefe suddenly died at the age of 60 from lung cancer on August 31, 1968 at the Santa Monica Hospital ^[3] .

Cinema

Like Bad Flanagan (without title)

How Dennis O'Keefe

Source: American Film Institute ^[12]

Television

Source: Internet Movie Database ^[13]

• Andrew Spicer. Historical Dictionary of Film Noir . - Plymouth, United Kingdom: Scarecrow Press, 2010 .-- ISBN 978-0-8108-5960-9 .
• David J. Hogan. Film Noir FAQ: All That's Left to Know About Hollywood's Golden Age of Dames, Detectives, and Danger . - Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard Corporation, 2013 .-- ISBN 978-1-4803-4305-4 .
• Laurence Raw. Character Actors in Horror and Science Fiction Films, 1930-1960 . - McFarland, 2012 .-- ISBN 978-0-7864-9049-3 .
• Edmund G. Bansak. Fearing the Dark: The Val Lewton Career . - McFarland, 2003. - ISBN 978-0-7864-1709-4 .

• Dennis O'Keefe at Turner Classic Movies